Redemption: Madison Lax Stops Kinnelon in Quarters

Redemption.

That's what the Madison High School boys lacrosse team is feeling after its 10-7 win over Kinnelon in Thursday's state quarterfinal matchup in Kinnelon.

The Dodgers, who had lost its previous two encounters with the Colts–most recently a 9-4 loss in the Morris County Tournament final–showed true grit, capitalizing with a very impressive second half, to move themselves one step closer to their goal of a state title.

Unlike their previous games against Kinnelon, the Dodgers avoided getting into a deep hole early by locking down the powerful Colts offense and scoring two timely goals late in the second quarter to go into halftime tied at 3-3.

"It really helped," said captain Austen Lein, who scored three goals to go along with two assists. "Going into halftime tied 3-3 was great because it basically started a whole new game. We knew we had to come out and get up on them quick."

And the Madison offense would, as its high-powered offense came to life in the second half.

The Dodgers took a 4-3 lead after junior Colin McLinden–who was dominant in his faceoff matchups–fed captain Charlie Oldendorp for the attackers first goal of the game.

"We had a great game plan on the faceoff's," head coach Mark Sweeney said. "We locked off their wings and [McLinden] said I'm going to win. He fought the kid one on one and we shut their poles off."

Kinnelon wouldn't allow Madison to revel in the lead for long, though, as minutes later Mike Crampton and Steve Grembowiec got the Colts back out in front, 5-4, with back to back goals.

But with less than three minutes left in the third quarter, Madison again took over the game.

Lein added two more goals in the quarter–the first a loose ball that barely crept between the Kinnelon goalie and the post–and senior middie Will Stuhler added another (assisted by Lein), making the score 7-5 headed into the fourth quarter.

"It feels so good," Lein said. "They got us the first two times, this time it was revenge. The defense played tremendously, they shut [Kinnelon attacker Mike Crampton] down, and the offense got to work."

Madison continued its torrid pace in quarter four as Oldendorp and sophomore Michael Clemente scored back-to-back goals to open the quarter giving Madison a comfortable 9-5 lead.

The defense remained stout, holding Kinnelon to just two goals in the quarter–the second a "throw away goal" with 15 seconds remaining.

"We had a great game plan," Sweeney surmised. "We really felt that the last two games [Crampton] killed us with eight goals, so we shut him down. Great defensive play and our offense shot well and stuck it in."

"These kids want it. They don't want to finish playing. They'll miss me if they leave, so they want practice tomorrow," a smiling Sweeney added. "We're ready to go."